The Ballerina and the Wannabe Wrestler
by LexiAmbroseCabana
Summary: Two kids who go to school together, but never spoke are pushed together by fate. As these two teens learn more about each other, start to fall for one another. Will they ever be more than friends, or will they keep their feelings to themselves? Dean Ambrose(Jon Good)/OC
1. Chance Encounter

**A/N: This idea came to me while I was at the gym and I thought I'd give it a shot and have something to work on since I can't not write about this man for some reason and I'm out of "Little Moments" until Easter. So if you lovely readers could leave reviews and tell me what you think, I'd definitely appreciate it. Thanks! **

* * *

It all started when she decided to take a different route home from the dance studio she did practiced ballet at. Being an adventurous one, she thought nothing about whatever she might see in this part of Cincinnati. She just didn't want to be home alone, so she was going to maximize her time out of the house.

So, she walked along the sidewalks, hood up and hiding her platinum blonde hair. She heard footsteps running behind her and stopped to turn around, but instead was knocked to the ground.

"Shit! Get up, let's go." Her attacker whisper-yelled, helping her to her feet before pulling her down an alley, pulling her back to his chest and covering her mouth. She glanced down to the street and saw a couple guys rush passed the alley. "I'm not going to hurt you. Don't scream, and they won't find us, okay?" She only nodded once and took a deep breath once his hand wasn't blocking her mouth. She turned to look at her attacker/savior and tried to make out his facial features; but he only turned away, took her hand in his, and led her towards a rickety looking fire escape. She didn't ask where he was leading her, she didn't care. She just wanted to go home now. So she followed him up the fire escape until he crawled through an open window and then he helped her into the empty apartment.

"Thanks, I guess, for saving me?" She stated in more of a questioning tone and he turned to face her while she brushed off her already ripped jeans.

"What are you doing on this side of town?" She looked up and instantly recognized the face. How could she not? They only had every class together.

"I go to the dance studio three blocks west and decided to take a different route home. Who were you running from?" She asked, pulling her hood down.

"That's not important."

"What happened, Jon?" She asked, taking a couple steps forward and he mimicked her action. The two were chest to chest, although he had about seven inches on her. He had to look down to make eye contact, just like she looked up to make eye contact with him.

"It's nothing, Vanessa."

"If you say so. Do you have a smoke?"

"I should. Want me to walk you home? Your parents are probably worried." He offered, handing her the stick she requested before sticking one between his lips.

"They don't care what I do as long as I make it to and from school and make it to and from ballet." Vanessa explained as she and Jon made their way out of the empty apartment and he handed her his lighter as they walked down the stairs.

"You can't light while you're walking?" He teased when she stopped midway down the stairs to light her cigarette.

"Not on stairs." She mumbled around the cigarette and he smirked as he leaned against the wall and watched her until she handed her lighter back. "Are you walking me home, or critiquing me?"

"Can I do both?"

"Why do we not talk to each other at school? You just seem so pleasant." Her tone was dripping with sarcasm, but he grinned and draped an arm across her shoulders.

"My good looks tend to scare people away."

"You wish that was the case."

"You're so nice to other people, Vanessa. I can feel your love for me." He teased, twirling a lock of her hair around his finger as a light drizzle began to fall over the city. "Aw, shit."

"What, does the puddy tat not like the rain?" She teased right back, doing her best looney tunes impersonation.

"You won't have to walk back over here in this shit." He muttered as he pulled up his hood and she frowned, realizing his predicament.

"Then just stay the night at my place." Vanessa suggested, but to her it seemed like her offer fell on deaf ears as Jon pulled up her hood for her and continued walking.

Vanessa didn't mind the silence as they walked together. Instead, she found it peaceful. She liked the rain, and she had just learned that she enjoyed Jon's presence. Possibly because he may have almost gotten her killed but saved her at the same time. It didn't hurt that he was incredibly good looking, as well. Once the rain started to come down harder, they walked a bit faster and it seemed as if they were on her front porch in no time at all.

"Are you coming in?" Vanessa asked once she had the door unlocked and he looked at her questionably. "Why did I ask? Of course you are."

"Oh really?"

"I'm not letting you walk home in this weather. Stay the night here. You can have my bed and my brother left some old clothes here that should fit you." Before he could deny her sweet gesture, she pulled him into the house and he followed her up the stairs. He wasn't used to being the recipient of kind gestures, especially one of this calibre. So he was kind of awestruck that she would offer her bed to him.

He took one look around her room and decided that she wasn't the girl he thought she was at first glance. She was an award winning ballerina, used to be a volleyball player, and had a wide variety of music. Her room was clean save for a couple pieces of clothing that were on the floor and the book that they had to read for their English class, but other than that he was in awe.

"Won't your parents be pissed off that you've got a guy in your bed?" He asked, turning to see her in only her underwear and admired the view.

"They're not even home. Like I said, they could care less what I do. Strip down to your underwear, I'll bring you pajamas."

"Just pants, please, sweetheart." Vanessa looked at him weird when he called her sweetheart, but let it slide as she headed into her brother's old room and dug out a pair of pajama pants for Jon.

"I didn't peg you as a guy who slept without a shirt." Vanessa teased when she tossed the pants to him and he smirked.

"Didn't peg you as the type of girl to wear lace underwear." Jon teased right back and she rolled her eyes, but gave a smirk of her own when she gave her ass a shake.

"Does it turn you on?"

"You have no idea." He admitted with a chuckle as she pulled on pajama pants of her own and a white tanktop before she took her bra off and tossed it into the hamper. "Where are you sleeping?"

"In my bed."

"So I'm supposed to share?"

"You're god damn right you are." She winked playfully and he got under the blanket, holding it open for her. He waited until she got comfortable against him on the twin sized mattress before he dropped the blanket, draping his arm across her waist cautiously. She didn't complain so he left it there.

"I feel like this is the start of a friendship." He mumbled as she turned off her bedside lamp and she smiled into the pillow, gently patting his arm.

"I have to say that I agree."


	2. A Day Alone

Vanessa woke up in a position that she didn't mind. Her head had come to rest on Jon's chest and he was holding her tight to him, as if he was afraid that she'd leave him. The thought sounded absurd to Vanessa as soon as she thought it, because they'd only just spoken for the first time a little under six hours ago. There's no way somebody could grow attached to another person in such a short about of time. Especially when that time was spent sleeping. Vanessa was happy that it was a Saturday, since it meant that her parents wouldn't be home, she didn't have ballet or school, and she could just enjoy Jon's presence for just a bit longer.

He was such a thin guy, and it was more than obvious that he didn't eat as much as he should've been eating and that fact depressed her. She knew from watching her brother that teenage boys had a seemingly insatiable appetite, so he had to be hungry close to all the time. Even as he slept, he looked exhausted.

She managed to sit up at bit and pulled the curtain back to see that it was still dumping rain outside. She wasn't going to let him walk home in that. He'd get sick for sure and probably blame her, she decided as she dropped the curtain and laid back down. He made a good pillow, so she had no problems with laying her head on his chest and going back to sleep.

When Jon woke up an hour later with Vanessa in his arms he couldn't fight the smile on his face. He got a decent night of sleep, and wasn't abandoned in the night. He felt like Vanessa didn't judge him last night, and obviously she trusted him since he was allowed to sleep in her bed with her. For once he felt like he wasn't alone in the world and he appreciated the blonde for making him feel this way.

"Are you awake?" Vanessa mumbled and he nodded.

"Yeah. Why, do you want me to leave?" He desperately hoped she'd say no. He didn't want to go home yet. He didn't want to lose her calming presence.

"No. I want to make breakfast."

"You don't have to make me breakfast."

"It would be rude not to. I was thinking about having pancakes, if that's okay with you?" Vanessa suggested, sitting up a bit so she could look at him. "Don't tell me that you don't like pancakes."

"I've never had pancakes." He mumbled, avoiding her shocked gaze.

"We're having chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, but I'll make you a couple classic pancakes. I can't believe that you haven't had a pancake before." She rambled as she got out of bed, pulled him out of bed, and pulled him down to the kitchen. He hopped onto the counter top and watched as she dug around for everything she'd need to make his breakfast. "Can you go up to my bathroom and get me a hair tie?"

"Sure." He went about getting what she wanted and even tied her hair back in a ponytail for her since she looked really focused on what she was doing. "How long do you want me to stay?"

"As long as you want to stay, but I'm not letting you walk home in the rain."

"What if I never wanted to leave?" Jon asked, preparing himself for rejection.

"I'd figure out how to stash you in my house. I like having you around." Vanessa said softly, pouring some of the plain batter into the skillet.

"Really?"

"Yeah. How hungry are you?"

"Starving." Jon admitted truthfully, looking down at the hardwood floors.

"Stop looking like you're putting me out. You saved my life last night and were the best pillow I've ever had. I don't mind doing this for you." Vanessa scolded, flipping the two pancakes in the large skillet. "Get out a couple plates and forks from the dishwasher, please."

He did as she asked and a minute later she dropped the two plain pancakes on one of the two plates and pushed it towards him. He looked at her and then to the pancakes.

"You just eat them like this?"

"Some people like spreading butter on them, other people like putting maple syrup on them, my does both. But I wasn't going to put something on your pancakes if you didn't want it." Vanessa explained, tearing off a piece of his top pancake for herself. "I like them with one or the other."

"Can I get some butter?" He asked after mimicking Vanessa.

"Of course." She smiled and he liked seeing that smile.

* * *

Jon offered to help Vanessa wash the dishes and she was pretty grateful. He was good company and he seemed pretty happy about the pancakes. Especially the chocolate chip ones.

"When's your birthday, Jon?" She asked as she dried the skillet and he looked over at her in confusion.

"December eighth. Why?"

"We're friends, and friends should know when each other's birthdays are."

"When's yours?"

"December tenth."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." She confirmed with a nod, accepting the plate that he handed her to dry. "How long has it been since you had a proper meal?"

"I don't even know. I eat what I can, when I can. It's nothing to be sad about, Vanessa. I'm grateful that you fed me until I couldn't eat anymore."

"You're the only guy at that hell hole we call a school that I've spoken to without wanting to stab you with something. That's cause for some sort of award." She joked and he playfully flicked water at her. "God, you suck!"

"You love me." Jon teased and she rolled her eyes.

"You wish."

"I don't have to, because I know you love me."

"I'm considering taking back what I said about not wanting to stab you." Vanessa said as she dried off her hands and handed the towel to Jon.

"What do you usually do on Saturdays?" He asked as he followed her up to her bedroom and she shrugged.

"Whatever keeps me entertained. I already have all my homework done, so I guess we can just lay around all day."

"That sounds good to me." He mumbled as he flopped onto her bed and she joined him, resting her head on his shoulder. "When do you start being a ballerina?"

"I started when I could walk, really. I've always been interested in ballet since I could remember, so once I could walk properly, my parents put me in classes and I've never stopped."

"That's dedication."

"It's wanting to get my ass out of Cincinnati. Nothing special. What about you?" Vanessa asked, poking his nipple.

"What do you mean?" He asked and she shrugged.

"Don't you have any wild, crazy dreams?"

"I want to be a pro wrestler."

"A what?"

"Are you serious?" Jon asked and she nodded.

"My life is kind of school and ballet, so..." Vanessa trailed off and he looked down at her.

"You've never heard of the WWF? ECW?" He stated bluntly and she shook her head. "You poor, poor, child. Oh, you poor poor child. Tuesday night after ballet you're coming to my house and we're watching ECW."

"You better be there to get me at six."

"Hell, I'll walk you there after school."

* * *

After a while, Jon got restless so Vanessa took him down to the basement that her father spent years renovating into a dance studio/lounge. There was a wall of mirrors and half the room had hardwood flooring while the other half had plush carpeting, a couch, an old TV, and a recliner.

"Holy shit." Jon breathed out, looking around the room. "This is...wow."

"My dad did it all himself before he became an alcoholic. It took him a few years, but it's my little escape from the world." Vanessa informed, pulling Jon by the hand over to the couch. "I don't really bring people down here because if everyone knows about it then it's not special, y'know? But you seem like you need an escape from the world, too, Jon."

"Have you ever just had a moment where you hated every aspect of your life?" He asked and she nodded, maintaining eye contact with him. "Every fucking day of my life, I find a new reason to hate it more and more."

"Even today?" Vanessa asked, and he shook his head with a smile.

"Except for today. I've had more fun today than I've had in a really long time. So I'm really grateful for all this." Jon spoke quietly and Vanessa nodded, squeezing his hand gently. She wasn't going to pry, and she wasn't going to say anything until he did. She only moved to lay her head in his lap, keeping his hand in hers while she compared the size of his hand to hers. "Why does this feel natural?"

"Because we should have been friends a long ass time ago."


	3. Monday

There was an unusual murmur about the sophomore class. That murmur happened to be the news that Vanessa Smith-Greene came to school with Jon Good's arm around her shoulders. Apparently, that was a pretty big deal and Vanessa had no clue that would be such a big deal. But Jon just laughed it off and pulled her along to his locker since hers was right by their Spanish classroom.

"You act like it bothers you. You said this morning that you didn't give two shits about what these fuckers thought." Jon stated as he dug through his messy locker for his notebook and Vanessa casually scoped out his locker, mentally planning on helping him clean it out some time in the future.

"I don't, and it doesn't bother me. All I was saying was that I didn't think it would be a big deal to them." She mumbled, toying with one of the buttons on her jean jacket. He only looked down at her once he finally got what he was looking for and slammed his locker shut.

"You're a big deal to them. They don't give two shits about me, but you're pretty hot. They care about you."

"Was that a compliment? I'm touched." She teased and he laughed as they began their walk to the other side of the building.

"Yeah, don't get used to 'em, doll. Can't let these fuckers think that I actually like your ass." He joked and she rolled her eyes playfully, snapping her leg up to kick his ass. "Don't be feisty. Nobody likes a bitch."

"Oh, fuck you." She laughed, ignoring the looks she was getting from her friends. They were confused, but Vanessa didn't want to ditch Jon to explain to them how they somehow became friends literally overnight. They most likely wouldn't understand, anyways. She was glad that they took French instead of Spanish, since she didn't want to deal with them until she knew how to explain it to them.

Jon waited until they were comfortably situated at a table in the back to attentively observe Vanessa. Her long blonde hair was down and neatly brushed, but he wasn't sure how she was keeping warm in just a tank top and a jean jacket, but she looked comfortable. He knew she was thinking about something because she was tapping the eraser of her pencil against the cover of her Spanish textbook. She tapped when she was deep in thought, so he did the one thing that he knew would snap her out of it and placed his hand on her much smaller one to still her.

"Sorry." Vanessa said softly and he shrugged.

"It's fine. What are you thinking about?" He asked and she shrugged.

"How to explain our sudden friendship."

"What's there to explain? I understand you and you understand me, it works out. If your friends were actually your friends, they'd respect that." Jon explained and Vanessa nodded, smiling up at him.

"You're right."

"It tends to happen from time to time."

"Nessa!" Her friend Alyssa called into the room and she sighed. "It's important!"

"I'll be right back."

"You better be. Class starts in five." Jon playfully warned and she lightly tugged one of his messy blonde curls as she stood up and headed out the door.

"What's up, Lys?"

"What's up with you and Jon Good?" The brunette asked and Vanessa shrugged.

"We're friends."

"Over the weekend? What the hell? How the hell? He doesn't talk to anybody and you don't exactly try to branch out." Alyssa whispered, looking into the room to see Jon stretching. "But he is pretty cute."

"He saved my life when I was walking home from ballet Friday night and offered to walk me home. We got to talking and found out that we actually have a lot in common and hung out on Saturday. He is cute, but we're just friends." Vanessa explained, leaving out the fact that he spent the night on Friday because that implied that they had sex, which definitely wasn't the case.

"You want him, and I hope you see it soon." Alyssa said, patting Vanessa's arm before heading into her math class across the hall and Vanessa went back to her seat.

"What was that about?"

"She wanted to know what the deal was. Apparently I want you."

"If you did, I wouldn't be complaining." Jon said softly and she looked up at him.

"Are you saying that-"

"I'm saying that you're hot and any guy would be lucky to have you around." Jon quickly dismissed any idea of him having a crush on her, because he knew that she wasn't interested. He was happy with what he was getting from her.

"I thought I wasn't supposed to be getting used to you complimenting me?"

"You're not."

"You've complimented me twice in the past ten minutes." She pointed out with a grin, poking his dimple gently. "You've got a cute dimple."

"Dimples ain't cute." He tried keeping a straight face, but he had to crack a grin when she poked his cheek again.

"Your dimple is. Stop fighting it."

* * *

When lunchtime came, Vanessa pulled Jon along to the gas station down the road to grab a quick smack before they went back on campus to sit with her friends in the cafeteria. She was surprised to see that Alyssa had saved a seat for Jon as well, but it was a happy thing. Macie and her boyfriend Scott were a bit surprised to see a new face at the table, but quickly blew it off because it meant that Vanessa wasn't fifth wheeling for once.

Jon couldn't help but feel nervous about being surrounded by Vanessa's friends. Sure they looked friendly, but he learned that it was always the nice looking ones that hurt the most when they stabbed you in the back. Vanessa must have sensed his discomfort because she slipped her hand in his and gave a gentle squeeze as she took a drink from her bottle of Coke.

"Is Turner in a good mood, Nessa? I need to stay off her radar if she's not." Macie asked and Vanessa shrugged.

"She seemed in a great mood to me."

"But she loves you." Alyssa's boyfriend, Kyle, stated and Vanessa looked at him in confusion. "She's so fucking biased towards you because you're a ballerina and that's her favorite thing in this whole fucking world."

"Well, Turner hates my fuckin' guts and she seemed alright to me." Jon informed and Macie grinned.

"I just didn't do the reading so I don't want-"

"Johnny killed Bob to save Ponyboy." Allison cut her off and Vanessa nodded.

"She's going to have you pick a side on the issue and explain why." The blonde informed and Macie's eyes widened.

"What did you say?"

"That he was right because Bob would've drowned Ponyboy if Johnny hadn't have stepped in." Jon said for Vanessa, since her mouth was full at the moment. "You don't even have to turn it in, it's just for a group discussion."

"Thank god." Macie breathed out and Scott pat her back while Vanessa nudged Jon's leg with hers. He was doing fine and she hoped he knew that.

* * *

"So, do you think your friends like me?" Jon asked as they headed for their last class of the day and she nodded.

"I know they do. You're really cool, Jon, and now they see that. I know that I kinda pulled you out of your comfort zone at lunch, but I hope it wasn't too-"

"I had a good time. It's not like you left me alone with them, so we're cool." He assured as they walked into home economics and she smiled up at him.

"Partner up and choose well! You're stuck together for the rest of the semester!" Their teacher, Mr. Brown, called and Jon pulled Vanessa to a table in the back.

"You wanted to be partners, right?" He checked and she nodded as she got on the stool.

"I did." She assured before looking out the window. "It's raining again."

"Do you still want me to come over after school?" Jon asked and she nodded.

"We have homework to do and you said that you wanted to walk me to ballet. Unless you changed your mind. That's fine, too."

"I didn't change my mind."


	4. Tuesday

Having tweaked her ankle while horse playing with Jon in home ec, Vanessa was having a hard time in ballet. She was already worlds ahead of the rest of her class, having taken extra lessons over the summer, so it wasn't like she was falling behind. But it still bothered her because a pas de chat shouldn't be trouble for her. She didn't blame Jon, since she knew that it wasn't his fault. She should've been paying closer attention.

"Vanessa, what the hell?" Macie whispered from Vanessa's right and Vanessa shrugged as she kept hopping in time with the others. "You always look way better than everyone, but now you're falling in with us."

"I tweaked my ankle in home ec today, it's no big deal." Vanessa whispered back and Macie sighed.

"Do you want a ride home from ballet today? Kyle has to go your way, anyways." Alyssa asked from Vanessa's left and she shook her head.

"I'm going over to Jon's to work on the homework we didn't finish before he walked me here."

"Do your parents know that you've been hanging out with him?" Macie asked and Vanessa shook her head.

"They wouldn't care either way, but I haven't."

"I think you like Jon." Alyssa asked and Vanessa groaned as their instructor signaled the end of their class and they went over to their bags. "He likes you."

"He doesn't like me like that. He's-" Vanessa tried to argue as they all sat down to unlace their slippers.

"Do you like him like that?" Macie asked and Vanessa shrugged as her hands worked nimbly to get her slippers off so that could massage her left ankle. "You do."

"I've only known him for a few days but we've really connected and I feel like I've known him forever. He gets me, and I understand him."

"You guys would so be the perfect couple." Alyssa mumbled as Vanessa pulled her leggings on and shrugged.

"Yeah, but he doesn't like me like that so I'm fine with just being his friend." She conceded, putting on her Chuck Taylors and tying them tight. "I wanna know what we're doing for the winter performance."

"I heard it was The Nutcracker for the twelfth time." Macie stated and Vanessa smiled. She'd always loved The Nutcracker Ballet. "I swear to god if I'm Clara again, I'll fucking scream."

"You know that you were Clara last year because you couldn't dance for shit." Vanessa teased as she put on her Red Hot Chili Peppers tshirt over her leotard and Macie smacked her thigh. "But you've shown a lot of improvement so maybe you'll get a big dancing role."

"Says the girl who's probably going to be Sugar Plum or Dew Drop." Alyssa teased and Vanessa shook her head. "But you, like, breathe ballet. It's expected that you get the top role."

"I probably won't." Vanessa sang as they carried their bags over to the lists. "Damnit."

"You were saying?" Macie teased before searching for her name. "Fuck yes! Arab dancer!"

"I'm the Russian!" Alyssa cheered, but Vanessa only stared at the page. Surely there was no way. "We're going to head out."

"I'm going to make sure Claire is sure about this. If Jon is out there you should tell him to come in and wait." Vanessa said and her friends nodded before leaving and she set her bag down before making her way over to Claire's small desk that sat in the corner of the room.

"Yes, Vanessa?" The middle aged, ink black haired, woman asked in her thick French accent, not looking up from whatever she was writing. Vanessa heard the door open and looked over to see Jon walk in.

"I was just making sure that you were sure about me being Sugar Plum. This is a big role, and-"

"Vanessa, you've been under my tutelage since you were small. Very small. Tiny." She held her fingers barely an inch apart and Vanessa smiled. "This is a role you're ready for. You were ready for it last year, but I thought you'd like being the Snow Queen more. I'm positive about my selection, unless you'd like to switch for Dew Drop."

"I'm good with Sugar Plum. Thank you, Claire."

"Have a nice night, Vanessa."

"You too." Vanessa called as she picked up her bag and headed for Jon, who was looking at the list.

"What the fuck is a sugar plum and is that a good thing?" He asked quietly and Vanessa smiled as he took her bag from her shoulder.

"It's the Sugar Plum Fairy. Probably the most important dance role in the whole Nutcracker Ballet other than the Dew Drop Fairy and it's a very good thing." She explained as they left the studio and Jon looked down at her in confusion.

"The what ballet?" He asked and she stared up at him. "Your place or mine?"

"You said yours on Saturday, but if you'd rather go to mine I don't mind."

"My mom is kind of pissed at me so I think it would be better if we were at yours." That was a small lie. His mom wasn't mad at him, she was just strung out and he didn't want the girl of his dreams knowing that his mother was a junkie. That just might push her away.

"We can get some of whatever my mom made for dinner and then get comfy in the basement so I can school you on The Nutcracker before ECW starts." Vanessa said and Jon grinned.

"Is she as good a cook as you? I'm fucking starving."

"I think she's better."

"Why are you limping, blondie?" Jon asked once he got a good look at how she was walking and she shrugged.

"I tweaked my ankle. It's not a big deal." She added when he got on one knee and she looked down at him. "Jon, no."

"I'm not letting you walk ten blocks on a bum ankle."

"You're already carrying my bag, and-"

"And you're not heavy. I'll be fine." Jon assured and Vanessa sighed, but wrapped her arms around his neck and let him carry her piggyback style. "You're like twenty extra pounds."

"I'm like one ten, but whatever."

"Accept the compliment, sweetheart."

"You didn't have to do this, Jon. Any of this." She whispered in his head and he smiled.

"Yes, I did. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't? Besides, I want to do this for you."

"I can't imagine why." She muttered and he only smiled to himself as if he hadn't heard her. She didn't need to know why.

"So what's this Nutcracker Thing?" Jon asked to change the subject as he walked down the street.

"Probably one of the most successful and well known ballets in the history. It's also my favorite."

"What's the story?"

"You really wanna hear it?"

"I'm about to force you to watch extreme ass wrestling, the least I could do is listen about your favorite ballet. I'm actually interested."

And so, Vanessa dipped into the story of The Nutcracker Ballet, stopping to answer Jon's many questions as he carried her home. She appreciated him for being legitimately interested in the ballet, and for letting her ramble. She especially appreciated that he was carrying her, even if she felt it was unnecessary. What she didn't know was that, even though Jon was interested, he really only asked because he liked it when she talked to him. He found her voice and presence soothing, especially after the shitty time he had away from her. His mom had come home high, and then got pissed off at him because the apartment was a mess. She then proceeded to get higher and yell at him some more about how worthless he was and that he wasn't going to amount to anything.

"Are you okay, Jon?" Vanessa asked once she had finished the story of The Nutcracker Ballet and he nodded.

"I'm fine, sweetheart. Really, I am."

"You know that you can tell me anything, right?" She said softly and he nodded as he turned onto her street.

"Yeah, I know. That's why I like being with you."

* * *

"This is what you want to do when you're done with high school?" Vanessa asked, looking at Jon in surprise.

"Not this hardcore, but like the cushy WWF shit. We should've watched RAW last night!" Jon's sudden revelation startled Vanessa and he placed his hand on her thigh. "Sorry."

"It's fine. Who's that guy?" She asked, pointing at Sandman while he poured beer into his mouth.

"That's Sandman. I dressed up as him when I was twelve for Halloween. I had the beer can and everything. He's probably the worst wrestler in the world, but he's so fucking cool." Jon explained and Vanessa nodded, leaning into him a bit and he wrapped his arm around her waist. "You're not falling asleep on me, are ya?"

"Not at all. Just getting comfortable."

"I'm comfortable?"

"Very comfortable." She mumbled, focusing on the TV as they heard the door to the basement open.

"Vanessa, I made cookies for you and your boyfriend." Her mother called down the stairs and Vanessa sighed, having already told her mother multiple times that Jon wasn't her boyfriend. But she only stood up and smiled at her mom who met her halfway on the stairs and took the plate from her.

"Thanks, mom."

"Not a problem. If Jon wants to stay the night, I'll drive you both to school in the morning."

"I'll let him know. Thanks, mom."

"We're just not telling your father. You two can sleep down here in the basement and then he can borrow some of your brother's clothes. Your father is asleep in his chair, now, so when he wakes up I'm going to tell him that I drove Jon home while he was asleep and I'm picking him up in the morning to have breakfast here." Vanessa only nodded and her mother kissed her forehead before heading up the stairs while Vanessa went down the stairs to Jon.

"Did you hear all that?"

"I did. Do you want me to stay?"

"I'd like you to. You don't have to, but-"

"I really don't want to go home tonight." Jon mumbled and she nodded, resuming her original position against him. "I'm not one for attachment, but-"

"I get it. Trust me, I do. I have days where I don't want to come home either."

"But your parents are-"

"Please don't tell me my parents are great. Not everybody has perfect parents. I'm glad that I have both my parents in my life, but my dad's a drunk and my mom is terrified of him and, I hate to say it, but I am too. Nobody should have to go home and be afraid of what could happen when their dad comes home from work. I walk home from ballet for a reason."

"It keeps you away from here longer." Jon said softly and she nodded, but flinched when he went to wipe away a tear that had fallen. "I'm not going to hurt you, Vanessa. I'd never want to hurt you."

"Don't tell anybody, Jon, please don't tell."

"Your secret is safe with me, Vanessa." He whispered, pulling her closer. "You're safe with me. Wanna know my secret?"

"If you wanna tell me."

"My mom is a junkie who likes to talk shit to me all the damn time and the reason we didn't go to my place was because she was home and super fucking high."

"You could've told me that before."

"I didn't want you to see me as scum when you found out." He mumbled and she scooted away from him so she could turn to face him. She cupped his cheeks in her hands and brought his head up, but he wouldn't make eye contact with her.

"Look at me, Jon." She waited until his baby blues were locked onto her jade green eyes and she offered a gentle smile. "I could never see you as scum. We're one and the same, you and me, y'know?"

"You still want to be my friend?" He asked and she smiled.

"I don't think I could ever stop being your friend." He smiled and she grinned before releasing his face and settling back down beside him. "I like having you around, Jonathan." She said once she was comfortable and he grinned as his arm found her waist once more and he rest his head on hers.

"I like being around you, Vanessa."

"Good, because you're not getting rid of me easily."


	5. Cuddles

Jon and Vanessa had started to do close to everything together over the next month and a half. He had made a routine out of walking her to and from ballet, spending the night at least twice a week. Sometimes they slept in the basement, and others they slept in her bed. It didn't really matter because he slept better when he was with Vanessa. His grades were way better than he projected because Vanessa helped him understand what he didn't get and watching her work made him want to be a better student for her. He didn't want to admit it, but he had become dependent on her. She was his escape when wrestling wasn't on TV.

Vanessa was in the same boat. She needed Jon because he understood what it was like when a parent favored an addictive substance over their child. She needed Jon because he understood her and made her feel safe. He knew things about her that Macie and Alyssa didn't know, and he had become her best friend. He put her first, just like she put him first. She knew that she was overly dependent on Jon, which was bad considering her growing feelings for him.

Somehow, the two had made it from October to early December being practically joined at the hip, but neither noticed the little ways that their hearts would beat just a bit faster. The subtle way that Vanessa would let her lips linger on his skin whenever she kissed his cheek. The way Jon would wrap his arm around her possessively, as if to let the whole world know that she was his. The way that Jon would get lost in her eyes whenever they were working on something together, and Vanessa did the same.

"I wish it would start snowing soon." Vanessa said softly from where she and Jon were hanging out in the park.

"I could do without it for a while. You do have a ballet performance in eight days, Nessie, and I'd like to be there without freezing my ass off as I walked to and from."

"You have a birthday in two, and I'm sure my mom wouldn't have a problem driving you."

"Yours is in four." He shot right back and she shrugged as he took her small hand in his while they started walking back to her house.

"Yours is first, and I got you the best present ever." She stated and he smiled.

"You didn't have to buy me anything."

"Actually, I did. You're my best friend, Jon, and I want this birthday to be your best so far."

"It already will be. I'll be spending it with my best friend." He spoke softly and she smiled up at him. "I feel bad, since I'm kinda broke so I didn't have any money to buy you anything nice, so I did what I could with what I had." He mumbled and she gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

"I'm sure it'll be perfect because it was a gift from you." She assured and he smiled. "I don't expect the world from you, Jon."

"You deserve it, though." He whispered in her ear and she blushed slightly, giving his hand a squeeze.

"If anything, you deserve it." She countered as they walked up the steps to her porch and he shook his head.

"Can we watch The Nutcracker again?" He requested as they went inside and she nodded, grabbing a couple cans of Coke from the fridge while he grabbed the two Lunchables left out on the counter. "My mom says I'm getting fat because I'm spending so much time with you."

"Your mom is a bitch. You're hot, Jon. You actually look like a teenage boy who's eating properly." She assured as they made their way down the stairs and he smiled. "If anybody should be worrying about getting fat, it's me. I think I've gained like five pounds."

"Five pounds isn't anything, and you're still beautiful."

"Thank you Jon."

"Don't thank me for stating the truth." Vanessa smiled as she sat down on the couch and he put the movie on before sitting down beside her.

"Can you open my lunchable, Jon?"

"You know I will."

* * *

When Vanessa's mother came home from work she went down to the basement to see what Jon and Vanessa wanted for dinner. But instead she saw them asleep on the couch together while The Nutcracker played on the TV. Seeing the two like that reminded her of when she and Vanessa's father had first fallen in love, and she only hoped that Jon didn't grow up to be an abusive alcoholic. She pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and covered the two teens up, smiling when Vanessa snuggled more into Jon.

Her daughter had finally found somebody to confide in, and she could only hope that Jon didn't abandon Vanessa or vis versa. They needed each other, and it was painfully obvious to her that Jon wasn't going to give up Vanessa without a fight.

She'd just make macaroni, since her husband wouldn't be coming home until much later than usual.

* * *

Jon woke up about an hour later to see Vanessa still asleep. He wasn't sure how the blanket had come into the equation, but he wasn't complaining. She had a small smile on her face and he liked thinking that he was the reason that she was smiling. He knew that he probably wasn't the reason, but it didn't hurt to have hope that one day she'd plant a kiss on him and tell him that she loved him.

"Are you against matching sweaters?" Vanessa mumbled and he shrugged.

"Only if I'm matching with you." He said softly and she smiled up at him.

"Who else would you match with? Maybe my mom will give me money and we can go do that tomorrow."

"That'd be cool."

"Let's go see if mom came home and made dinner."

"Can we just stay like this for a few more minutes?" Jon asked quietly and she nodded. He really liked having her snuggled up with him like this, and he wanted to savor the moment just in case he never got one like this again.


	6. Happy Birthday

Jon didn't understand why Vanessa had this shit eating grin on her face while they were in Chemistry. It was weird to him that she was more excited over it being his birthday than he was, but he wasn't going to deny that he was happy that she was happy about him being born sixteen years ago. He only assumed that she had something planned for lunch, since she kept watching the clock and that was where they went after Chemistry.

"Can you just tell me, Nessie?"

"It's a surprise. It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you."

"You didn't make a big deal out of this, did you?" He asked once the bell rang and she shook her head.

"No, I didn't." She assured as they gathered their things and he shook his head, not believing her.

"Vanessa, your mom dropped something off in the office for you." Their teacher, Mr. Bronstein, informed and Vanessa nodded with a smile.

"Can you take my stuff to the cafeteria, Jon?"

"Of course. Be quick, though." He requested and she nodded, knowing that he still wasn't totally comfortable with her friends without her around.

When he got to the cafeteria, he sat down at the table and smiled as everyone wished him a happy birthday. He wasn't expecting Macie to hand him a gift card, though.

"We all pooled some money together. It's a hundred dollars and it's good for any store in the mall." Alyssa explained and Jon turned the card over in his hand.

"Thanks, you guys. You really didn't have to do this."

"You're our friend, of course we did." Kyle assured, lightly elbowing Jon. Of course, the older boy didn't know that Jon had bruise there and he certainly didn't know why, so he was surprised when Jon winced. "Sorry, man."

"It's cool."

"Do you like Vanessa?" Macie asked and Jon shrugged.

"No, I spend pretty much all my free time because I hate her."

"Not like a friend, but like a girlfriend?" Scott asked and Jon sighed, but they didn't say anything more because Vanessa had walked up with a package of cupcakes. The looks Jon was getting from the whole table screamed that they knew that he liked Vanessa, and he could only hope that they didn't tell her and make her hate him because of it.

* * *

"You were kind of off today at lunch." Vanessa commented as they walked to her house. She had a day off from ballet before they went into intense rehearsals for the winter performance, and she was happily spending her day off with Jon. "Did I go overboard?"

"No, it wasn't you. This was just the best birthday of my life, and your-"

"Our." Vanessa corrected and he nodded.

"Our friends surprised me with this gift card and I wasn't expecting it."

"You aren't even done hauling in gifts, since I haven't given you mine, yet."

"You really didn't have to get me anything, since I got everything I want in the best friend ever."

"Stop being sweet." Vanessa laughed as she adjusted her beanie and Jon shrugged.

"You weren't supposed to get used to me complimenting you, but I think I compliment you once a day."

"At the very least and I appreciate every one of them."

"I thought by now I'd be annoying."

"Nope. Still as cute as ever." Vanessa assured as they walked in the house and he smiled at her. "Go down to the basement, I'll bring your presents down."

"Presents? As in plural?"

"As in plural." She confirmed, letting him take her backpack before she headed up the stairs to her room while he went down to the basement. He got comfortable on the couch and pulled out his math book, not at all interested in studying the symmetry of groans but instead trying to contain his excitement. Eventually he heard the door open and shut, her excited footsteps carefully running down the stairs. "Close your eyes."

"Seriously?"

"Jonathan Michael."

"Alright, they're shut." He assured, feeling her lean over his shoulder and hold his wrist up.

"Keep it there for me." She requested and he nodded, casually taking a deep breath just to get a whiff of whatever perfume she was wearing today. He felt her tie a couple things around his wrist before she eased his arm down, then he felt something warm wrapped around his neck before a light box was dropped in his lap and what felt like a hat was pulled on his head. "You can open them now, and before you ask, I spent a grand total of fifteen dollars on all of it."

"Nessie, wow. You got me a scarf?"

"I knitted you a matching scarf and hat. You were complaining about not having anything like that a couple weeks ago, so I set to work. I also made the bracelets."

"Are they like BFF bracelets?"

"Kind of. This one is for sure, because it has the charm that matches this one." Vanessa pulled a chain from around her neck that had a puzzle piece charm on it and then pointed to where he could see what looked like a matching charm woven in with the strings of various shades of blue. "They actually fit together, but I didn't think that you were much of a necklace kind of guy. And this one," She tapped the woven leather bracelet. "I made because I thought you'd think it was cool."

"I do, Nessie. Thank you so much. What's this?" He pointed down at the neatly wrapped box and she smiled.

"Open it."

"Can I just tear at the paper?"

"That's the best part about wrapping paper." She assured, smiling as he started tearing at it until he got to the white garment box. He slowly lifted the lid and saw the ECW tshirt and smiled up at her.

"Really?"

"ECW is your favorite. How could I resist?"

"Vanessa, you really went above and beyond with all this. Thank you so much."

"You're so welcome, Jon." She spoke with a grin, waiting until he put all his gifts beside him to pull him into a hug.

"This is seriously the best day of my life." He mumbled into her neck and she could've sworn that she felt a couple tears hit her neck while she held him close and rubbed his back.

"I'm glad I could do that for you." She said softly before she kissed his head.


	7. Bruised

When Jon walked to where he usually met Vanessa for their walk to school and she wasn't there, he was immediately concerned for her well being. Ever since they started walking to school together she was always there before he was, and if she got a ride her mom would stop and pick him up, too. So, rather than make the walk without her, he waited for a few minutes before he decided to walk to her house and check on her. He didn't like not knowing where she was or how she was feeling.

Both of her parents' cars were gone, so he knew they were at work, but Jon saw the light on in Vanessa's bedroom so he knew she was home. He knocked on the door three times then stepped back and waited. Shortly after, he rang the door bell three times and waited. Finally, he got tired of waiting for her to come to the door and tried the knob, inwardly thanking the higher powers that may be as he stepped inside and shut the door behind him.

"Vanessa? It's me. Are you okay?" He called as he made his way up the stairs and he saw her staring at her reflection in the mirror. Why, he wasn't sure, but he knew he wouldn't like it. His Vanessa sensors told him that she was upset, and he didn't like it when she was upset.

"Jon?"

"Yeah, Nessie, I'm here." In what seemed like a split second she was down the hall and in his arms, and he wrapped his arms tight around her. "What's wrong?" The only response he was the feeling of her tears soaking through his shirt and he only stood there and let her cry on him.

He may have still had his coat and backpack on, but he stood there in the middle of the hall with his arms around her because she needed him to. He was whatever she needed him to be, and right now she needed him to be her comforter. So he rubbed her back and would whisper comforting things in her ear until she finally stopped crying for the time being. He took that moment to take off his backpack and toss it into her room, his jacket following soon after before he wrapped his arms around her again.

"You should be at school, Jon." Vanessa finally mumbled into his neck and he nodded in agreement.

"You weren't on the corner and I got worried. I was just going to check on you on my way to school and make sure that you were okay." He explained as she stepped back and caught a glimpse of the bruise on her cheek, but she turned her head before he could get a good look.

"Are you going to go?" She sounded so weak, and he didn't like it.

"Do you want me to stay?"

"Of course I do. Have you had breakfast?"

"Yeah. Have you?" She nodded and he took her hand in his, squeezing gently. "I'm glad you're here."

"What happened?" He asked softly, trying to get her to look him in the eye.

"He'd never hit me before so I wasn't expecting it. I didn't even know that he was an abusive drunk so I didn't know that it was even a possibility."

"Your dad hit you? That son of a-"

"Relax, it's not-"

"I'm not going to relax, Vanessa. Nobody deserves to be hit, especially not you."

"Jon, please, just calm down." Vanessa requested, finally looking at him.

"When?" She understood what he was asking, since he was investigating the bruised skin

"Last night when he came home from wherever he was. You had only been gone for like ten minutes." She said softly and his frown deepened, if possible. He could've been there to protect her if they had only stayed asleep for just a bit longer. "It was so scary, Jon. I almost called to see if you'd come back to me."

"I would have. My mom wasn't home last night. Even if she was, if you needed me, I would've come running."

"Really?"

"Really. Your birthday presents are in my backpack, by the way."

"I honestly forgot that today was my birthday. I thought you said that you only got me one thing, though?" Vanessa asked as she led Jon down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Yesterday while you were at ballet I went out and used some of that money I got from our friends to get you something."

"Jon, you didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to, though. Who are you calling?"

"My mom. I'm letting her know that you're with me." Vanessa explained as she held the phone up to her ear and he nodded in understanding, heading back upstairs to grab her gifts while Vanessa spoke to her mother. He still wanted to beat the shit out of her father, but Vanessa came first and she wanted him to calm down so he did.

"Are you going to ballet tonight?" Jon asked once he came back downstairs with her gifts and she nodded.

"I have to. I have makeup that'll cover the bruise, and the swelling isn't as bad as it was last night, so I'll be okay. It's Friday, can you stay the night?"

"You know I will. I'll stay all weekend if that's what you want." He said softly, smiling when she wrapped her arms around him again. He set her gifts on the counter so he could wrap his arms tight around her.

"I never want you to leave." Vanessa admitted quietly and he sighed.

"I wish I never had to. I'm really only at my happiest with I get to be you."

"Can you make me a promise, Jon?"

"Of course, Nessie."

"Promise me that if neither of us is married by the time we're twenty-eight, that you'll marry me." He saw the worry in her eyes, and hoped that she wasn't worried that he'd reject her. In fact, he couldn't make that promise fast enough.

"I promise. Why twenty eight, though?"

"I just picked a number between twenty-five and thirty." She admitted with a small smile and he grinned, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "Do you wanna go watch a movie?"

"I wanna do whatever will make you feel better. If it means watching Disney movies all day, I don't care."

"Toy Story it- shit." She cussed when she heard her father's truck pull up and Jon looked at her in concern.

"What?"

"Why is he home?" Vanessa asked and Jon's eyes widened, but he quickly grabbed her gifts off the counter and knelt down beside her. She held a finger to her lips and he nodded, grateful that he had taken his shoes off in Vanessa's room. She opened the cupboard door of the island counter and gestured for him to climb in there since it was empty and he crammed himself in there to the best of his ability. "Stay here. I'll come get you."

Not trusting his voice at the moment, Jon only nodded and she shut the cabinet door silently before creeping around to peek at the living room. She immediately regretted it because she got to see her father with his tongue down some obviously dyed blonde's throat. She wasn't surprised that her father was cheating on her mother, but that didn't take the sting out of the fact that she had to hear it happen first hand while she worked on hiding herself- and Jon- from her father. But she pulled herself together and waited for them to finish up so she could safely go down to the basement with Jon and lose herself in movies and the feeling of being in Jon's arms. He was her comfort blanket, and she wasn't sure that he knew that.

"Alright, get the fuck out of my house now." She heard her father tell the woman and then she heard his footsteps come towards the kitchen. While growing up she had mastered using the island counter to stay invisible to her parents, both before and after the accident that turned her father into a raging alcoholic, so she knew exactly how to match her steps along the side of the counter with his steps so that they were always on different sides of the counter until he left the kitchen and she heard the recliner open and grinned as she opened the cabinet to see Jon looking uncomfortable, but he was also looking relieved.

She held her finger to her lips to remind him to be quiet, then helped him out of the cabinet before she shut the cabinet without making a sound. They were given yet another blessing when her father turned the TV up and she smiled, taking Jon's free hand in hers and leading him down the hall to the basement door. They both waited until they were on the staircase and Vanessa had locked the door to fully relax and Jon looked at her, trying to get a feel for what she was thinking.

"Nessie..."

"I'm okay, Jon. I can't say that I'm surprised."

"You're crying." He murmured, wiping away the tears that had trailed for her unbruised cheek and she smiled. "I don't like seeing you cry."

"I don't like crying." She stated as they headed down the stairs and he nodded.

"I know. You open these and then I'll get the movie started." Jon instructed and she nodded, sitting down on the couch. He sat down beside her and she smiled up at him while he fumbled with them. "I'm not really good at the whole gift giving thing, so I'm praying that you like what I got."

"I'm sure you did great, Jon. You know me better than I know myself." Vanessa assured, taking the biggest box from him. Nothing was wrapped, which was a really good thing because she wasn't in the mood to unwrap things and probably would've asked Jon to unwrap them for her. When she opened the box she smiled, seeing the top of a snow globe, but that smile seemingly got brighter to Jon once she pulled it out. "It's The Nutcracker."

"Yeah, see there's Clara, and you can see Sugar Plum and Dew Drop there, then there's the Snow Queen, and obviously the Nutcracker is in the middle." Jon pointed out all the characters in the snow globe for her while she wiped away tears. "Stop crying, Vanessa."

"They're happy tears, Jon. This is so great, I can't wait to put it on my desk upstairs." She spoke as she leaned over to set the snow globe on the floor when he set another box in her lap. This one was thinner and much lighter, so Vanessa was at a loss.

"Open it."

"I am. I am. Don't be so pushy." Vanessa teased, finally opening the box and seeing the charm bracelet. "Jon..." She breathed out as she pulled it out of the box and he smiled as she looked at it.

"I only got the three charms, because I wasn't sure if you wanted a lot or a little, so-"

"Jon it's perfect. I'm assuming the 'J' is your claim on me?"

"You could say that. More like one of those 'I'm always with you' things."

"It's perfect, but you said that you only got three, so why are there four?" Vanessa asked, putting her finger on the charm that looked like half a star and he smiled, pulling a chain from out of his shirt that looked to have the other half and a little 'V' hanging from it. "They fit together?"

"Yeah." He barely got out before she wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

"Jon, you're the best." She whispered into his ear and he smiled.

"I would've gotten you more, but I had to get a new pair of shoes before the snow started falling."

"Jon, you didn't have to get me anything with the money you got. The fact that you did makes me feel special though."

"You're supposed to feel special on your birthday, Nessie. I'm glad I could be the guy to make you feel special."

"You're always making me feel special, Jon."

"I try." He mumbled as she released him and he went to find Toy Story while she fumbled with the bracelet in multiple futile attempts to put it on. Eventually he got tired of listening to her mutter curses and turned around while the tape was rewinding and clasped it for her, then kissed the spot where she had accidentally scratched herself in one of her many attempts.

"Thank you. Come sit."

"I'm going to gather all your Disney movies first, and then I'll sit down."

"Okay."

* * *

Vanessa couldn't think of a better way to spend her birthday. She literally spent her day in the arms of her best friend/guy she was secretly in love with and she couldn't have been happier. The last movie before she had to get ready for ballet was Beauty and the Beast, only she didn't sing along to this one like she did the others. She never sang along to Beauty and the Beast.

"You know, we're kind of like Beauty and the Beast." Jon commented and Vanessa nodded with a small smile.

"Kind of. In a modern, non musical, way."

"How come you don't sing along to this one?" He asked as the song Beauty and the Beast started and she shrugged.

"I really like just hearing these songs. This one is my all time favorite Disney song. I'd have it played at my wedding if my husband will let me."

"I'd let it be our first dance." Jon said softly and she looked up at him with a bright smile.

"Really?" Vanessa asked and he smiled, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Of course. It made you smile like that. All I want is for you to be happy, Vanessa."


	8. Ballet

Jon and Vanessa were standing in the alley behind the theatre where her performance would be starting in half an hour. She was already dressed, but she was letting her nerves get the best of her until Jon showed up at the back door with a cigarette. She was grateful that he had come to her rescue, even though he teased her a bit over the sparkles on her face but she got him back about being all dressed up for her.

Yes, Jon was in a dress shirt and slacks that Vanessa's mom had surprised him by taking him shopping for, the blazer that matched the slacks was currently on Vanessa since it was December and freezing.

"Is your mom going to be pissed about me smelling like smoke?"

"Nah, she knows I smoke at times so it's cool. But you have my perfume in your pocket so you can spritz yourself before you go in." Vanessa suggested and he nodded, accepting the cigarette from her. "You look really nice, Jon."

"Thanks. You look pretty great yourself." He complimented and she smiled as she smoothed out his shirt. "Very sparkly and colorful."

"Can you see the bruise?"

"Nope. We did a good job of covering that up before we left, sweets. Even with that bruise, you'd be the prettiest girl on the stage." Jon assured, tilting her chin up to look him in the eyes. "I mean it, Nessie."

It was like one of those intensely romantic moments you'd see in an eighties movie. Baby blue irises locked onto jade green ones; both reflecting the love, happiness, and care that was only brought out in the two by one another. Ever so slowly, Vanessa eased up onto her toes as Jon started to lean down, their lips growing closer by the second as their eyes started to flutter closed until their lips just barely-

"Vanessa!" Macie said loudly as she pushed the back door open. "Claire is looking for you."

The two friends instantly stepped apart, Jon stomping out the cigarette while Vanessa dug through his pockets for her perfume. He was inwardly pissed that he had come so close to finally kissing her, and the moment that he had so perfectly mapped out was ruined. He could tell that Vanessa was a bit flustered as well and let her spritz him before handing his blazer back.

"You're staying tonight, right?" Vanessa asked and he nodded, kissing her forehead before she kissed his cheek.

"You'll do great out there, Vanessa."

"I've got my good luck charm in the audience." She said with a wink and he nodded as she headed back inside and he made his way down the alley to get back inside and to his seat beside Vanessa's mother.

"Where have you been?"

"With Vanessa in the back. She was freaking out." Jon explained and her mom smiled.

"You're so good to her."

"I try to be the best that I can be for her."

* * *

Jon was enamored by the whole show so far. Everybody moved with such graceful execution, even the younger dancers, and it was just the first act. Since he had seen the professional performances, he knew that Vanessa didn't come in until the second and he had seen her practice her solo quite a few times in the basement and even helped her with the grand pas de deux at the end. Of course, having no ballet experience other than the little things she had taught him whil he wasn't as much help as he would've liked to have been, but Vanessa told him that he was a huge help and that was enough for him.

Act 2 finally came around and he was on the edge of his seat as Vanessa's dance started. He was grateful that they got seats front and center, because he would've been pissed if somebody obstructed his view somehow. What surprised him was that her mom got up midway through to answer her phone, but he paid it no mind and continued watching Vanessa do what she loved. He knew that she had noticed her mom walk away, but she kept going.

"Jon, I need you to walk Vanessa home and stay with her. I need to go to the hospital because her father got into an accident." Her mom whispered in his ear and he nodded, not looking away from Vanessa, who was standing in the background and watching them curiously. "Thank you."

"Yeah, no problem. Drive safe."

When it came time for the grand pas de deux, Jon found himself envying the guy who got to dance the duet with her. He didn't really like when other guys were around Vanessa, because he saw her as his best friend. He was constantly afraid that they wouldn't be gentle enough with her and he'd have to kick somebody's ass because of it. But this ballerina guy was handling her nicely, so he was fine with it.

* * *

"How'd I do?" Vanessa asked while she hugged him tight and he grinned.

"You were fucking brilliant, sweets."

"Really?"

"Really. It was so fucking cool to watch you out there." He whispered in her ear and she smiled up at him as they separated. "I'm glad I was here."

"I'm glad you were here, too. Where's my mom?"

"She had to go to the hospital because your dad got into an accident. She asked me to walk you home and stay with you."

"Karma is a bitch, isn't she?" Vanessa asked with a slight laugh and Jon nodded, taking her bag and offering his hand to her as they left the theater and she leaned into Jon.

"Do you want my coat?" He offered and she shook her head.

"You'll be cold."

"It'd be worth it to keep you warm." He said softly and she smiled as he stopped and she took her bag from him while he shrugged out of his coat and traded her for her bag. "Good?"

"Great. Thank you."

"Do your feet hurt? I'm sure I could-"

"Jon, I've already stolen your coat and you're carrying my bag. You're not carrying me, too."

"You're sure?" He asked, looking down at her in concern and she nodded, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

"I appreciate the offer, but I'm sure that I can walk. It's not that far, Jon."

"Alright, Nessie."

They walked in comfortable silence back to her house. Every now and then Jon would look down at her to make sure she was alright, ready to pick her up if she even looked a bit less than fine. Vanessa, on the other hand, kept her gaze locked firmly on the sidewalk in front of her. She was tired, mad that her mom left to be with her dad, but at the same time happy because she was with Jon. He had a tendency to battle all the negative things in her life with positive feelings.

"You okay?" He finally asked when they were situated in her bed and she shrugged.

"You have a bad habit of making me happy when I just want to be mad at everything." She mumbled and he looked down at her in confusion.

"Why do you want to be mad, sweets?"

"It's nothing."

"No, it's definitely something." He said as he sat up and pulled her up with him. "Talk to me, Nessie."

"Jon, I-"

"Vanessa Leigh-Ann."

"It's not fair that he was most likely drunk driving and she leaves in the middle of my performance to be with him. This was the biggest role of my ballet career, and she just- she missed it, Jon." He didn't realize that making her talk to him would make her cry, but he held her close to his bare chest and smoothed her hair down while she cried.

"I'm sorry, Vanessa. I'm really sorry."

"Don't be sorry. You were there, and that actually means more to me." Vanessa spoke softly and he looked down at her, resting his forehead on hers.

"Really?" Jon whispered with a small smile and she smiled up at him.

"Yeah."

It was another one of those moments you'd see in the movies. The classic "now it never" moment where the boy in love with the girl has to make the decision to either kiss the girl or back away. Of course then the boy overthinks his options and becomes pretty sure that he's about to ruin his life with that girl, but he does it anyway.

And boy did Jon do it.

But he didn't over-do it. He just simply pressed his lips to hers, sliding one hand up to cup her tear stained cheek when she reciprocated the pressure applied. Vanessa wasn't expecting the kiss, and Jon certainly wasn't expecting her to kiss back, but both were pleasantly surprised by the action.

"I'm sorry." Jon whispered and she smiled, bringing a hand up to push his hair out of his face.

"Don't be."

"Good, because I wasn't actually sorry." He said with a breathless laugh, smiling in adoration when she let out a small yawn. "It's bedtime, Nessie."


	9. July Fourth

The months that followed had Jon and Vanessa in a unique situation. Publicly, they weren't a thing. They were just Jon Good and Vanessa Smith-Greene, best friends. But when they were alone, they were Jon Good and Vanessa Smith-Greene the couple. Vanessa wasn't sure how they'd kept it from their friends for seven months, but alas, it was July. She and Jon had finally decided to tell their friends, and she could only hope that they didn't get too upset over not knowing about the seven month affair.

"Calm down, Nessie. They're not going to be mad." Jon tried to assure as he watched her pace her bedroom from where he laid on her bed.

"What if they are, Jon? What if they never want to talk to me again?" She asked and Jon shrugged, earning a glare from his girlfriend. "A response would be nice, Jon."

"Then they can go fuck themselves because you've got me, and I don't have any intention to leave you. Now come sit down and take a nap with me before we go to the fireworks thing." He tried soothing her, pulling her to the bed to lay with him. "How are we spending our seven month?"

"I don't know. I just want to be with you, Jon."

"And you will. Do you want to just drive around town together?"

"You got the Chevy running?" Vanessa asked with a grin, referring to the Chevy they had found on the side of the road during their spring break, and Jon nodded with a proud grin.

"It's still ugly as all hell, but she runs nice now."

"Why didn't you didn't drive it here instead of walking?" Vanessa asked and Jon pecked her lips softly.

"I wanted to surprise you on our seven month, but the cats better out of the bag." Jon conceded, smiling when Vanessa pushed his hair back before pecking his lips.

"Definitely. Maybe we can find a field to lay in and stargaze together." Vanessa suggested and he nodded in agreement.

"That'd be nice. How are you going to tell Macie and Alyssa without them freaking out on you?"

"I'm just going to tell them flat out. It'll be easier."

"Alright. I wanted to take a nap, but maybe we should leave early to get a good spot." Jon suggested and Vanessa nodded in agreement.

* * *

"I'm a fucking genius." Jon praised himself as he laid their blanket out on top of the hill and Vanessa smiled, waiting until he was satisfied to sit down on it and set their snacks down beside her. When he plopped down beside her he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and started playing with her hair. Vanessa, however, wanted more contact with him while they were alone on the hill and turned her head so she could kiss his neck.

"Sometimes I feel like you only want me for my mouth."

"You wouldn't have a mouth as practiced if we didn't practice together." Vanessa teased and he nodded in agreement before tilting her chin up so he could capture her lips in a kiss.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" Macie squealed, forcing Jon and Vanessa to break apart to stare up at her, Alyssa, Scott, and Kyle. Although the couple wasn't expecting to break the news quite like this, they were used to Macie interrupting them when they were trying to be intimate.

* * *

_Jon and Vanessa had just gotten comfortable with kissing and touching eachother romantically when Jon had decided to take that next step and try to get tongue from Vanessa. They'd be studying with everybody for finals later that evening, so they weren't getting much time to themselves and he wanted to capitalize on every moment he got alone with Vanessa in the most romantic way he could possibly muster but, of course, the moment he kissed Vanessa he heard footsteps running up the stairs, they both jumped and banged their foreheads together before Jon leaned back on the bed in pain and Vanessa rubbed at her forehead as the door opened._

_"Sorry I'm early, Scott had to work and I was so bored by myself." Macie said as she entered the room and Vanessa smiled up at her, both girls completely unfazed by Jon's disappointed sigh._

* * *

_"Nessie, babe, please." Jon begged and Vanessa looked over at him before she let out a sigh and moved so that she straddled him on the swing set._

_"What do you want me to do, Jonny?" She whispered in his ear, knowing that she wasn't going to make his problem._

_"I want you to take that magical hand of yours and fixed what you caused. Please."_

_"Here?" She asked, taking a tentative look around before resting her forehead on his and he pecked her lips._

_"Here. Nobody's here, baby."_

_"It's kind of dangerous, we're sitting on a swing." Vanessa mumbled, keeping one hand on the chain while her other went to Jon's belt._

_"HI VANESSA!" Macie shouted from a car window as she and Scott drove passed the park and Vanessa jumped, falling off of Jon's lap and hitting her head on the bark decorating that section of the playground._

* * *

Thinking back on both of those instances, Vanessa instinctively brought a hand to the back of her head and Jon looked over at her in concern.

"How long have you guys been together?" Alyssa asked and Vanessa searched out Jon's hand.

"Seven months on the fifteenth." Jon stated proudly and Vanessa smiled at him when Macie and Alyssa plopped down on the blanket in front of Vanessa while Scott and Kyle laid down their blankets.

"You kept this away from us for seven months?" Alyssa asked, but Macie only grinned.

"You sneaky bitches. Did I walk in on you two?"

"A few times." Jon muttered, feeling the ghost impact of his head colliding with Vanessa's a couple months ago.

"Anyways, Kyle is throwing a party while his parents are out of town next weekend. You're both invited, of course, and if you're not there I'll hunt your asses down." Alyssa informed and Jon looked down at Vanessa.

"We don't have a choice, babe." She laughed and he grinned.

"We'll be there." Jon assured before kissing Vanessa's cheek.

"I have to get a picture of you two now that you're official and cute." Macie gushed while she dug through her back and Vanessa grimaced.

"Please no. I'm not exactly-"

"You're hot." Alyssa assured before fluffing Vanessa's hair.

"Did you guys bring beer?" Vanessa asked, looking over at Scott and Kyle to see them grin and nod. "Can I get one? Jon you'll share with me, right?"

"Of course. I'm not letting you get drunk, though."

"I don't want to." She assured as she caught the beer and pulled him down for a kiss. Macie took the picture at the right time and Vanessa sighed once she pulled away from Jon and felt him pull her close to him.

"This could've been the summer of triple dates had you guys told us sooner." Alyssa grumbled and Vanessa rolled her eyes.

"Have you guys done it yet?" Macie asked and Vanessa shook her head.

"We don't need to have sex to be happy together." Vanessa said confidently, smiling up at Jon. He knew that she was right, because he was happy just being with her. Sure, they hadn't actually had sex but they had come close and that was more than enough. He didn't even need that much. He got to hold her just because and kiss her whenever he felt like it. She was his girlfriend, finally, and that was more than enough for him.


	10. Juniors

Vanessa and Jon went into the next school year as the couple to be envied. They were just so happy together, regardless of the fact that they didn't have a single class together this time around. He still spent the majority of his free time with her. The rest was spent trying to get into Les Thatcher's wrestling school despite being a minor. Eventually Cody Hawk allowed Jon to come in and hang out doing whatever, and then Jon was spending less time with Vanessa and more time at HWA. She didn't mind, though, since she had started stepping up her ballet game so she would seem more appealing to Juilliard. As far as Vanessa was concerned, her life depended on getting into Juilliard.

Jon didn't understand the importance of Juilliard, when there were arts academies in Cincinnati that she could go to after high school that wouldn't require her going to New York. He wanted the best for his girl, but he didn't want her to forget about him. He was always afraid that she'd meet somebody better and recognize that she could get somebody better than him, since he was basically street trash and she could definitely do better. But if it was what she wanted, he'd support her all the way.

The first time Jon came home with a bruise Vanessa was more than concerned and second guessing the whole "wrestling is totally safe" thing. But after he assured her that he wasn't hurt, she stopped voicing her concerns and let him do what he loved. She'd massage his back and shoulders after a long day and he'd massage her feet and ankles in return. They were two kids with big dreams that were bound to lead them in opposite directions, but they were in love and that would never change.

* * *

"Hey Jon?" Vanessa asked as he drove her home from ballet and he glanced over at her before returning his gaze to the road.

"Yeah, Ness?"

"You love me, right?"

"Of course I do. Why are you asking?"

"No reason. Just making sure." She was lying. He knew she was. She got really quiet when she lied, and he knew that.

"Vanessa." She bit her lip and met his concerned gaze. "Talk to me, baby."

"My dad was talking shit... Again." She muttered and Jon sighed as the light turned green and he redirected his attention to the road.

"Vanessa, it doesn't matter what that asshole says, I'm never going to stop loving you."

"You're sure?"

"As sure as the sun will rise in the east." He promised with a confident grin as he stopped at another red light and pulled her into a kiss.

"Can you stay tonight?"

"Yeah, I can stay. Did you do the conic equations bullshit?"

"Yeah, did you?"

"No. I went straight to HWA after I dropped you off at ballet. Can I copy yours?"

"Of course."

And so, Jon ended up sitting and Vanessa's desk copying most of her homework because he neglected to do his while she laid in her bed watching. She didn't mind him copying off of her, she expected it since he was devoting his free time to wrestling and her, and not school. She didn't mind it though.

"How much longer, babe?" Vanessa asked tiredly, not bothering to lift her head to look at his back.

"Last page, baby. You can go to sleep, I'll be in bed soon."

"I don't mind staying up with you. We're a team, remember?"

"You're right."

"I know." She mumbled as he stood up from her desk and crossed the room to join her in bed. She loved that he had been getting more muscular, it was her ammunition when she needed to prove to him that he was doing the right thing.

"I love you, Vanessa." Jon mumbled tiredly once he was comfortable and she smiled, pushing his hair back.

"I love you, too, Jonathan."

"What's that face, baby?" He asked, seeing the concern in her eyes.

"You just look so tired, Jon." Vanessa said softly, lightly scratching his scalp like she knew he liked. He let out a contented sigh at her actions before focusing on what she had said.

"I know, sweets, but it'll all be worth it when I'm a big time pro wrestler. I'll give you the fuckin' world, Nessie, and we'll live in a nice house wherever you wanna live."

"Like... Australia?"

"And then we'll have a house somewhere reasonable and warm like Vegas. All the scary shit lives in Australia, babe."

"Would you get me a pet llama?"

"Whatever you wanted, babe, I'd get for you." Jon assured with a smile and she closed her eyes as he kissed her forehead. "Get some sleep, you have an extra hour of ballet tomorrow and we're going to dinner to celebrate our anniversary."

"You spoil me, Jonathan Michael."


	11. Downs

Like every couple in a long term relationship, Jon and Vanessa had their up days and their down days. Today just happened to be one of their down days. Really down. Jon ended up oversleeping, which made him a couple hours late to school. Since he was Vanessa's ride, she had to walk to school in the January snow wearing a pencil skirt and blouse with not enough time to grab a coat. And, to top it all off, the heaters in the school weren't working so she got to freeze her ass off all day and on the walk home if Jon didn't show up. She wasn't expecting him to show up, but as soon as she walked into the cafeteria there he was in all his glory.

Since Vanessa was in a mood, she didn't do much to acknowledge his presence. She made brief eye contact before sitting down beside him at the table they usually sat at together, and that was about it. He was a bit confused, to say the very least, but only assumed that she wasn't feeling well or that somebody pissed her off in one of her classes.

"How'd you get to school?" He asked in a failed attempt to get her undivided attention.

"I walked." Vanessa stated curtly, keeping her gaze locked firmly on the snow falling outside while Jon looked over what she was wearing.

"In that? Baby, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to oversleep. I got caught up talking to Cody last night about weight training and-"

"Save it, Jon. I know where you were last night because you certainly weren't with me like you said you would."

"Damnit, that's right. You wanted help-"

"With the stuff on the test in Algebra Two today because you understood what I didn't. In case you were wondering, that was the majority of the test so I'm sure you'll get a good grade when you take it later on."

"Vanessa, sweets, please look at me." Jon pleaded, waiting until she had turned to face him to continue. "I fucked up, and I know that. I'm sorry, and it won't happen again. I promise."

"Don't make a promise you can't keep, Jon." Vanessa said softly, tears welling up in her jade green eyes while Jon's eyes widened.

"The hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Wrestling is slowly becoming your priority and you're pushing me to the back burner. I'm all for supporting you, I am, but I don't think I can handle you neglecting plans you made with me for wrestling."

"So if you wanna do something, my dream has to wait?"

"That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that if we make plans in advance, I'd like it if you at least called to say 'hey, Cody wants to work with me on something, I'm gonna be late'. I know when you're scheduled to be at HWA. I know about when you have to be there, I know you can't miss a day, and I can understand staying behind to work on something you aren't getting. If anybody would understand, it would be me. But it wouldn't kill you to pick up the fucking phone and let me know so I'm not worrying myself sick about you." Vanessa had unintentionally hinted to Jon that she was worried about him last night and, added with the tears that had rolled down her cheeks, he could feel the knife in his heart twisting.

"You were worried about me?" Jon asked softly, wiping away her tears with his thumbs.

"You've never missed a date in the eleven months we've been dating. You've been late, but you've never completely just stood me up before. And then you were late today, and-"

"Shh." Jon cut her off when he finally noticed her shivering. "Nessie, baby, I'm so sorry. I never meant to make you worry and I certainly didn't mean to make you cry." He kept his tone soft and even as he took off his jacket and wrapped it around her before he wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. He knew that he had a bunch of making up to do for this little incident, especially since he pissed her off and made her cry in the same five hour period. It was just a good thing that he had the day off from training today.

* * *

Vanessa was still in a mood when Jon was driving her home from school, and he could understand why. He didn't blame her for still being bitter about this morning, just because he magically appeared and gave her his coat didn't mean that he had made things right. But, halfway through the drive, Vanessa had scooted over to snuggle into his side and he happily draped his arm across her shoulders and pulled her close to him.

She didn't say anything, and he didn't want to say anything and ruin whatever moment they were having. By some chance, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by Poison was playing on the radio and he had to hold back the chuckle that almost slipped from his lips. The last thing he wanted was to make Vanessa want to leave him.

"Can I change the station, Jon? I'm not really feeling Poison right now."

"Go for it. Do you have ballet tonight?"

"Claire canceled because she wasn't sure she could make it through all the snow." Vanessa explained as she searched though stations and Jon nodded.

"I have today off, can I hang out with you or do you want me to give you space for a while?" He asked as she settled back on the station that they were once listening to, that was now playing a Blue Oyster Cult song, and she looked up at him.

"I may be upset with you but that doesn't mean I don't want you around, Jon." Vanessa said softly and he smiled as he turned onto her street. "If anything, I only want you around when I'm upset because you always know how to make it better."

"I don't know how to make things better when I'm the reason you're upset, though."

"I'm sure you'll come up with something. You always do." She assured, leaning up and kissing his cheek as he shut off the truck.

"You were right, you know, at lunch. I shouldn't be making promises that I can't keep. But I am promising that I'll be a better boyfriend to you. I know I haven't been all that attentive to you lately, and I'm going to work on that. You're my number one, Nessie."

"I can handle being number two to wrestling, Jon. I just can't handle you neglecting previously made commitments to me because a wrestling thing popped up."

"And I won't. That's a part of the 'being a better boyfriend' part. Now let's get you out of that skirt and into some pajamas to watch movies."

"Or I could get out of this skirt and you could get out of those jeans and we can utilize the time we have while my parents are at work." Vanessa suggested as Jon helped her out of the truck and he grinned down at her before grabbing their backpacks and shutting the door.

"That sounds nice. Did I mention how good you looked today?" He asked, taking her hand as they walked up to her front door and she smiled up at him.

"No, but you were probably preoccupied by my emotional breakdown at lunch so I'm not holding that against you."

"Thank you, darlin'. But you do look nice. Professional looks very sexy on you." Jon praised, shutting the door behind him before letting her pull him up the stairs to her bedroom.


	12. It's Not Goodbye

_Jon didn't have a clue what was so breathtaking about the letter in her hands, since she didn't tell him who it was from and she hadn't said anything since she opened the letter. He was growing concerned, though, since she hadn't moved either. He was hoping that it was a letter from Ohio State or Cincy saying that they wanted her to stay with her boyfriend so they offered her a full ride there to make their relationship easy. He knew that when she got a letter like that pigs would start flying, but it didn't hurt to have hope._

_"Nessie, you're scaring me, babe."_

_"I got accepted into Juilliard." She whispered and he could've sworn he heard his heart break. Juilliard wasn't in Ohio. It wasn't anywhere close._

_"What."_

_"Juilliard." As hard as he tried, Jon couldn't bring a smile to his face. His worst fear was coming true. It would only be a matter of time before he lost Vanessa for good. "Jon? Say something."_

_"That's great, babe. Really, I'm proud of you."_

_"You don't sound all that happy."_

_"You're going to be hundreds- maybe thousand- of miles away and you're going to forget about me, Vanessa. How can I be happy about that?"_

_"Jon, I'm not leaving until late August, and I'll be back in December for the holidays. I could never forget about you, Jon. You're my guy, nobody else." She said softly, sitting beside him on her bed and he looked over at her._

_"You're certain that some fancy pants ballerina boy isn't going to come and sweep you off your feet?"_

_"Positive. I'm into rough and tumble wrestlers, anyhow."_

* * *

Looking back on that day, Jon felt a bit better about seeing his girl off. He didn't want to let her go, and found himself holding her tighter than he intended. But she let it happen, knowing that he needed the reassurances that she was his in any way possible. That, and she didn't want to leave him.

"I love you more than anything, Vanessa. Please don't you ever forget how much I love you."

"I could never. I love you, too, Jon. Please don't find some hot chick to bang just because I'm gone."

"Chances are, I'm gonna be sleeping in your bed for like a month." He joked and she smiled as he pulled back so he could press his forehead to hers. "No crying, Vanessa. It's only until December and I'll have the most amazing Christmas and birthday presents here waiting for you."

"I don't want to go. I know I have to, but-"

"I know. I don't want you to go, either." Jon murmured, wiping her tears away before they could fall as the boarding call for her flight sounded over the intercom.

"That's me."

"Yeah. I'll be in touch, sweets." He assured before pressing his lips to hers in what was the sweetest and most passionate kiss she was certain they'd ever shared. "I love you. Check your carry-on when you're comfortably situated."

"I will. I love you, Jon."

"I love you, too, Vanessa. No ballerina boys." He called as she started to walk away and she turned to face him.

"No wrestler chicks." She called back and he grinned.

"You're the only girl on my mind."

"Buenos nachos Macho Man."

"Until I see you again, Miss Elizabeth." He called as she handed in her ticket and she looked back to blow him a kiss, which he caught and pressed to his heart. It was going to get tough, but it wasn't going to be impossible. If anybody could make distance work, it would be him and Vanessa.

* * *

Vanessa was alone in her row, so she just dropped her carry-on into the seat beside her and relaxed. She had never liked planes and she'd never ridden a plane alone before. The whole experience had her bothered and she really just wanted Jon. He made things better for her.

Remembering what he had told her before she had to walk away, Vanessa started to dig through her carry-on for something he could've put in there. She came across a fabric and pulled out his ECW tshirt, the one she had given him for his birthday, with a smile and brought it to her nose. It smelled just like him and she saw an envelope fall out and into her lap. She saw her name written on it and smiled at how neat, yet messy, Jon's handwriting was and how it always looked like he tried harder when he wrote things for her.

_'Vanessa,_

_Right now you're probably reading this on the plane to New York. I know I haven't been the best boyfriend in the world, but I want you to know just how much I love you. I've been saving up for a while and I got you a promise ring that should also be in your bag(the box is dark blue), as my own little testament of how much I love you._

_I know being with me hasn't always been a walk in the park, but somehow we made it two and a half years which is something spectacular. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't met you that night in October, because you made me a better person. Life was bearable for me with my best friend by my side, and I'll always thank you for feeding me pancakes until I couldn't eat any more. It was then that I knew for sure that I loved you, even though you had only given me your bed and fed me. You always have been and always will be the girl of my dreams, and I hope you never forget that._

_You were my first crush, my first girlfriend, my first kiss, the first and only girl I had sex with, and the only girl I see myself waking up to ten years from now and having a family with. I said I'd become a big time pro wrestler and I meant it. I want to be the guy to provide for you and I want you to be proud of me, Nessie. Just like I'm so proud of you for everything you've done and overcome. We're not going to be like your parents and we're definitely not going to be like mine. I'm going to give you the world Nessie. I promise._

_I wanted you to have my ECW shirt, since that was the first real gift I think I've ever gotten and I got it from you. I haven't taken off those bracelets you made me since I got them, except to swim or shower, and I don't think I ever will. I've got a piece of you with me and, since you have my shirt, you have a piece of me with you. I can't wait until I see you again in December. I know I have to, but I don't want to._

_I don't want you to cry at all while you're gone, because you're one of the 8% now. You've dreamed of going to Juilliard and I don't want you to cry now that you're living your dream._

_While I'm writing this, you're asleep in your bed and I'm sitting at your desk, but I miss you already._

_Have fun in New York,  
Jonathan Michael._

_P.S. I love you so much.'_

Vanessa didn't know what to say, and she didn't even realize that she was crying until a flight attendant offered her a tissue. But she knew that she had to suck it up, because Jon didn't want her to cry and she didn't want to cry when he wasn't there to wipe her tears away. She could get through the next few months without him being with her physically.


	13. Say Something

Vanessa couldn't believe that this was happening. It was one thing to come home to surprise Jon, but to have another woman open his door and introduce herself as his girlfriend just hurt her. No, it killed her on the inside. What made it worse was that he couldn't even come up with an excuse or an apology. That was the finishing blow to her heart, her pride, her confidence, just Vanessa in general.

_**Say something, I'm giving up on you  
I'll be the one, if you want me to.**_

It took Jon a moment to snap out of the initial shock of the fact that Hellena was in his apartment and that Vanessa was, too. Being hungover certainly didn't help the shock. She had already gotten halfway down the street before he snapped out of his stupor and went to follow her, but stopped when he noticed the ring he bought her sitting on the sidewalk. Dropping to his knees, he picked up the symbol of his love for her and held it tight in his fist before standing up and heading back inside to get dressed.

_**Anywhere I would've followed you  
Say something, I'm giving up on you**_

When he made it to Vanessa's house, he saw that neither of her parents were home and he just walked through the door like he had done so many times when they were still in high school. His first guess was to check the basement, and then went up to her bedroom to see her in leaning back in her desk chair with her back to him. He didn't know what to say when she turned around to face him and only sat down on the bed, keeping his head down.

_**And I am feeling so small  
It was over my head  
I know nothing at all**_

It felt like she had been watching him for an hour, when the clock told her that it had only been two minutes. She didn't know what she wanted to say to him, and she knew that he didn't know what to say. He only played with his thumbs and kept his head down in, what she presumed was, shame. She knew that long distance was going to be difficult for them, but that didn't make up for what he did. She didn't screw around behind his back while she was in New York, so what gave him the right?

_**And I will stumble and fall  
I'm still learning to love  
Just starting to crawl**_

When Jon finally looked up at Vanessa, he saw the pain that he had put her through. He hated himself for it, but he thought that it wasn't going to be a big deal and it seemed like a good idea when he was drunk out of his mind. When his dad was gone his mom screwed around, so he only assumed that that was how it worked for everybody. Obviously he was wrong, because he had just broken Vanessa's heart. He didn't mean to, but he knew that he had.

"Say something, Jon."

"What do you want me to say, Vanessa? If I said I was sorry you'd tell me that I wasn't and-"

"What in the hell made you think that it would be okay to cheat on me?" Vanessa asked through grit teeth and he shrugged. "Don't you shrug at me, answer me."

"That's how it worked with my parents. My dad left, my mom screwed around, he came back then he was her one and only." Jon explained and Vanessa shook her head. "Say something, Vanessa."

"What am I supposed to say other than 'I'm going back to New York tonight'? Because I am, Jon."

"Vamessa-"

"I don't think you're ready for a relationship like this."

"You're just going to throw away close to three and a half years together?" Jon asked and she sighed.

"You need to realize what you want Jon. I love you and I'll never stop loving you."

"Is the twenty eight rule still in affect?"

"It'll always be in affect. But you need to fly and you'll never spread your wings while you're tied to me."

"Nessie, I don't to live a life that you're not part of."

"You made that decision for yourself." Vanessa muttered and Jon sighed.

"So this is it?"

"Until you get your shit together, it is."


	14. Self Destruct

Self destruction was an understatement when it came to Jon and Vanessa. To get over the pain of their broken hearts, they started putting more into their respective talents. Their friends worried, to be expected since they had developed some destructive habits, but nothing was going to stop them from pushing themselves to be the best they could be without having one another to make them feel like the all around best.

Vanessa rarely ate because she spent all of her free time in the practice studio and rarely slept because when she slept she dreamt of Jon, and that's the last thing she needed because it only made her feel worse. And feeling worse fueled her need to feel like she didn't need him behind her. She kept everything, though. The letters, the gifts and, most importantly, the pictures. As much as Vanessa hated the things that reminded her of Jon, she liked the reminders of how happy he once made her. They gave her hope that, one day, he'd make her happy again.

Jon was constantly drinking and had a flavor of the night in hopes of forgetting Vanessa, but every woman he went to bed with, regardless of how different they looked from Vanessa, made him think of her. Nobody felt as good as her. Anybody could compliment his wrestling and tell him that he was hot, but nobody was like Vanessa and he hated that he could get her out of his head. He knew it was karma getting back at him for breaking her heart like he did, but he would've tried to fix it if she had let him. He could understand why she didn't, but still. He hoped that he didn't have to wait until they were twenty eight to kiss her again. Eight years was a long ass time.

* * *

"Vanessa, you have to go out to eat with us." Her roommate, Brandon, urged and she sighed from where she unlaced her ballet slippers. She planned on moping and pretending that Jon Good wasn't a constant thought in her mind for the night, but Brandon had been pestering her all day.

"How is third wheeling going to make me feel better, Brandon?" Vanessa asked, looking up at him. Her exhaustion was obvious to her roommate, but he knew that she needed to go.

"Because we're going to see your ex. He's wrestling nearby tonight. Bryce got the tickets already, you can't back out."

"Let me put on my jeans. Remind me to kick your boyfriend in the knee." Vanessa teased and Brandon laughed on his way out of their room to get changed.

As soon as she sat down between Bryce and Brandon, she was regretting her decision to go. They were in the front row and the two insisted on sandwiching her between them so she couldn't run away. She had caught a glimpse of him on the way in and wanted to let out a sigh at how long he had let his hair get. She didn't pay attention up much going on until she heard his ring name called. Then her attention was locked on him. She knew the names of every everything he did and they even made eye contact briefly before she turned to Brandon.

"I can't do this, Bran. Can we just go get something to eat?"

"After his fight, we'll go." Bryce decided and Vanessa nodded, returning her attention to Jon in the ring. All the yelling and chanting around her was annoying as hell since she wasn't used to the environment and she wasn't prepared for this. Dance classes were never loud, and when she was in the practice studio all she heard was classical music. She hated being in this situation.

But, true to their word, once Jon got the three count Bryce led the way out of the building. Vanessa had to take a couple deep breaths once they were outside, sitting down on the sidewalk to get a grip on reality. She didn't like feeling like this. She didn't like that two seconds of eye contact made her think back to every happy memory she had with Jon. She didn't like that she only watched him wrestle for fifteen minutes, and already felt that dependence creeping back into her system.

"Vanessa, we didn't think seeing him again would affect you like this." Bryce said softly as Brandon knelt beside her.

"We were only trying to help, hun." Brandon murmured as a door slammed shut down the street but Vanessa only sighed.

"Vanessa!?" The three heard Jon call and Brandon saw the way her jade green eyes snapped to the direction his voice sounded from before she stood up and headed in the opposite direction.

"Let's get food guys. I haven't eaten today and I'm starving." Vanessa rambled as she started speed walking down the street and Bryce was quick to follow while Brandon stopped to look back at Jon, who was frozen in the middle of the sidewalk as he watched her walk away.

"Is that her boyfriend?" Jon asked quietly and Brandon shook his head.

"No, that's my boyfriend."

"I know that she probably doesn't want to talk to me, and I can understand why. Can you give her this for me?" Brandon took the envelope hesitantly, seeing the little bulge. "And tell her that I still love her. I never stopped."

"Why don't-"

"Please, man. I'm begging."

"Alright." Brandon sighed, neatly tucking the envelope into his coat pocket.

"Thank you."


	15. Las Vegas

The years went by without Vanessa running into Jon. She and Brandon landed spots in the New York City Ballet company and ended up living together with Bryce in a comfortable two bedroom apartment overlooking the city. She had tried dating, but it didn't work out in her favor. She knew that comparing every guy to Jon was going to hold her back, but that's what she wanted. She didn't want to fall in love with anybody else. She wanted Jon.

Brandon said that her infatuation with him was unhealthy, but he still sat up and watched Monday Night RAW, Friday Night SmackDown, and various pay-per-views with her if Jon was on the card and their schedule allowed it. But, unlike the many years she'd been dancing professionally, she was going to Vegas for their production of The Nutcracker during the holiday season.

"I can't believe we're losing you to LVBC." Brandon complained as he watched Vanessa pack her bags and she chuckled.

"It's just for the holiday season. They need a Sugar Plum Fairy, and I've been rocking that role since I was sixteen. I'll be home in January should the weather permit."

"That's a long as time. Maybe you'll elope with a stripper. That would be exciting."

"For you, maybe. I have a life plan."

"Find Jon, marry him, quit ballet, be a soccer mom. If he allows it." Brandon ran down the list and Vanessa sighed as she zipped her suitcase. "I don't understand why you waited this long for him."

"Because I love him. I always have and I always will. My cab should be here soon, so I'll call you when I land, alright?"

"Alright, Ness. I'll see you."

* * *

Once she landed, Vanessa was regretting her choice of wardrobe. She'd never been to Vegas before, so she had absolutely no clue how warm it could be in December, while New York was a glorified iceberg. As much as she loved living New York, she hated how cold it was.

Heading for the baggage claim, she typed her message to Brandon telling him that she landed and would be on her way to the hotel in a few minutes. It was then that she spotted her suitcase and went for it at the same time as somebody else.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She recognized the voice and felt her heart rate speed up when their eyes met for the first time in years. "Vanessa."

"Jon."

"I need you to call me Dean in public. I have a work image to keep up."

"My bad. It's nice to see you again." She spoke softly, grabbing her second suitcase as it scooted by.

"Are you moving out here?"

"No, uh, I'm here until January for the Nutcracker performances. They needed a Sugar Plum, and yeah."

"Are you staying anywhere? Because you can stay with me, Nessie." Jon offered as he grabbed his suitcase and she smiled.

"I actually didn't make hotel reservations, so if you'll have me I'd greatly appreciate it."

"After all the times you let me spend the night, it's the least I could do. But there's something else that I really need to do."

"What's that?" She got the answer to her question in the form of his hands on her cheeks pulling her into a passionate kiss. She couldn't help but do what felt right, wrapping her arms around his neck like she had done so many times before while flashes went off around them.

"Jesus, I've missed you." Vanessa breathed once they separated and Jon smiled.

"I've missed you, too, Nessie." He whispered and she smiled, pecking his lips one last time before stepping back. "I couldn't help myself."

"I can relate. Should we go?"

"Yeah, probably. Lord knows what kind of media attention I've just stirred up." Jon chuckled as he took one of her suitcases and she grabbed the other as they walked through the airport. Phone cameras were out and Jon had to stop to sign a couple autographs but the two made it out in once piece and safely into a cab. "How've you been, Vanessa?"

"I've been... Good, I guess. I've had my ups and my downs, but who hasn't?" Vanessa said softly, keeping her eyes locked firmly on her hands that rested on her lap. Jon didn't like that she was suddenly nervous around him.

"I could say the same. I know you're not afraid of me, Nessie."

"Jon, we're twenty eight."

"I actually have a ring for you. I got it when I hit the big leagues and blew my first big paycheck on it." Jon told her with a proud smile and she looked up at him. "I've been waiting for you to cross my path, Vanessa. I'm just praying that you're single right now."

"I'm single. I've tried dating, but nobody measured up- nobody clicked with me like you did, Jon."

"I didn't try dating. I whored myself out, trying to get over the pain of losing you. I know it was my fault, but-"

"Can we finish this conversation inside?" The cab driver asked and Jon looked up to see that they were in front of his apartment.

"Right. Sorry, man." Jon looked through his wallet for a fifty and slapped it in the guy's hand before helping Vanessa out of the cab and grabbing their bags from the trunk.

* * *

Jon and Vanessa didn't finish their conversation. As soon as they got inside they went straight to the bedroom, and Vanessa was the first to get out. She couldn't believe that Jon didn't notice the scars on her thighs, but she wasn't going to give him a chance to this soon in the game. She may love him, but that was something that she wasn't interested in dealing with just yet.

So Vanessa got dressed and went to see what Jon's fridge situation was. She wasn't surprised to see that there was close to nothing in his fridge. Luckily, the borderline anorexic ballerina decided that she wasn't all that hungry and got comfortable on the couch. She wasn't sure how to feel about what she had just done, so she sought out the pack of cigarettes that she knew he had and went out onto the balcony.

When Jon woke up and saw that Vanessa wasn't in bed, he brought a hand down to scrub over his face. He knew that pulling her into bed with him so soon wasn't a good idea, but her kiss and touch was addicting to him. He had been longing to feel her, and once he did he didn't want to stop. He couldn't stop and he wouldn't stop.

Her suitcases were still in the living room and he saw that as a good sign. He then saw her on the balcony with his pack of cigarettes in her back pocket while she leaned on the railing. So, Jon did what he felt was right and slipped behind her on the balcony, wrapping his arms around her slim waist. He didn't remember Vanessa being so slim, but he wasn't going to question it because of how scared he was that she would leave him.

"Good evening." He greeted, pressing a kiss to her neck.

"Good evening."

"I thought you left."

"I just got you back, Jon. There's no way I could leave so soon." Vanessa said softly, putting out her cigarette in the ash tray before Jon turned her around.

"Why didn't you stay in bed, then?"

"I didn't want you to notice-"

"The scars on your thighs or the fact that you look malnourished? Either way it doesn't matter to me, Nessie. None of that matters to me." Jon stated, cupping her cheeks in his hands. "We all have scars, we've all been there. Hell, you stood there for an hour in your pajamas making me pancakes because I was starving."

"Jon-"

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you that nothing will make me stop loving you."

What Jon wasn't expecting was for Vanessa to break down in tears. But he was there to wrap his arms around her. He was there to be anything she wanted him to be. His role in life was to be what she needed him to be for her. He loved her.

"Will you marry me, Vanessa?" He asked once she had calmed down and she looked up at him with a smile.

"Even though-"

"I want to be with you, regardless. You complete me, Vanessa. Whatever problems you think you have, we can work through together. We did it before with my problems, we can do it again with yours. You just need to give me a chance, babe."


	16. Healing

Jon watched Vanessa closely while she ate the breakfast he went out to get while she slept. She poked and prodded at her omelette, taking small bites here and there and looking up at him occasionally. He wasn't going to force it down her throat, but he was honestly tempted to. She never denied an omelet because they were her all-time favorite and he had never seen her nibble at one either.

"Did I get the wrong kind?"

"I'm just not hungry." Vanessa mumbled and Jon rose a suspicious eyebrow.

"Sweets, you and I both know that you can't turn down an omelette. Are you not hungry, or do you not want to be hungry?"

"The second one." She muttered and Jon sighed as he took the fork away. "I'm sorry, I've just-"

Vanessa was surprise when she looked up at him just in time to get a fork full of omelette in her mouth mid-sentence. He then set the fork down and placed his hand under her chin to assist her in chewing.

"I can't swallow for you, Nessie, and if you spit that out we're going to do it again." Jon warned and Vanessa worked on swallowing the food he shoved into her mouth. "Atta girl. You've got a long ass day of rehearsals ahead of you, and I don't want you going into a long ass day without a proper meal."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me for wanting to take care of you." Jon said softly, kissing her temple. "You're my everything, Vanessa."

"I love you, Jon."

"I love you, too."

* * *

"How was rehearsal?" Jon asked with a smile as Vanessa got in his car and she shrugged.

"It was weird. I know that every company has its own way of doing things, but I didn't expect LVBC's was of doing things to be so..." She trailed off as she buckled her seatbelt, trying to find the word she wanted.

"Warped?"

"Yes. It'll definitely take some getting used to, but I'm sure I can manage. How was your day?"

"I went for a run, took a shower, spent about an hour explaining to my bosses why there's a picture of me kissing one of the best ballerinas in the nation all over the internet, then I had to explain it to my teammates, did a bit of grocery shopping, and then I came to pick you up."

"You're not in trouble, are you?"

"Hell no. They're all happy that I'm engaged." Jon assured and Vanessa smiled as he took her hand in his. "I have to leave for a few days Friday morning, you going to be okay by yourself?"

"I don't have a choice but to be, but I'll be fine."

"Yeah, that was a stupid question." He chuckled and she nodded with a smile.

"I have tomorrow off, though." Vanessa mumbled as she texted Brandon, who had just sent her the picture of her kissing Jon in the airport.

"We can spend the day together and maybe talk about wedding things?" Jon suggested and Vanessa smiled.

"That sounds nice. Can I ask how much you spent on this ring?"

"Thousands."

"I get that. How many thousands?"

"Twenty-six of them."

"Jonathan Michael Good. You didn't."

"It was worth every dime." Jon assured, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "What's your schedule lookin' like, sweets?"

"It's printed in my bag. It's not as hectic as I'd like it to be, but I'll figure out how to make it work."

"You like being kept busy?"

"It kept my mind off of you. But now I have you, so I dunno anymore."

"Maybe you should quit ballet and move in with me." Jon suggested and Vanessa looked at him in surprise. "I know you love ballet, but maybe you can teach or something. I can support us, Nessie. I've hit the point where I make more money than I know what to do with, and all I want to do is buy you that house in Australia and a llama to go with it, just like I promised when we were seventeen."

"I'll think about it. I have a lot of things that I have to do before I just give up my life in New York and come live here with you. I want to, but I have obligations and shit to take care of."

"Alright." Jon sighed and Vanessa looked at him as he parked.

"Jon, babe, I need you to understand that as much as I want to drop everything and be with you, I can't. Not yet. But once I do, I'll be wherever the hell you want me to be. If you want me on the road, I'll be there."

"I understand, Nessie, I really do. Let's get inside and we can talk about this more."

"Alright."

* * *

After an evening spent thoroughly exploring each other's bodies, Jon took Vanessa out to dinner. It wasn't anything fancy, just a teriyaki place that was within walking distance, and Vanessa was fine with that. She actually insisted on somewhere inexpensive because she still hadn't gotten over the price of the ring that made its home on her finger. Jon thought it was cute that every couple minutes Vanessa's eyes would wander down to her ring and then look back up at him.

He couldn't deny that Vanessa had changed. He wasn't sure when she started second guessing her every move and he certainly wasn't sure when she was overly concerned about her body, but he was damn sure that both were his fault. He knew that on that morning years ago, he killed a part of Vanessa and those destructive habits were most likely how she tried to heal herself. Just like he thought that all the drugs, alcohol, and women would heal him when he knew that only Vanessa could heal the pain he was feeling. It was always only her. But now he got to be the one to heal her.


	17. Happy Together(The End)

"Your apartment is so bare, babe." Vanessa mumbled as she walked around the living room in one of his dress shirts and underwear holding a cup of coffee. He only shrugged as he watched her walk from where he sat on the couch and she looked over at him. "You know I have that picture of us from that Fourth of July and it would look good on the wall."

"The picture of us kissing?" Jon asked as he stood and placed his hands on her hips and she nodded.

"Yeah."

"Right there?" He whispered in her ear and she nodded, leaning back into him.

"Jon, you're up to something." Vanessa said with a smile, taking a drink of her coffee before he pried the cup from her hands and took a drink.

"You drink like a girl."

"It's hot."

"You're hot. Just drink it like a man, babe." Jon teased and she shook her head.

"I'd rather drink like a girl than burn my mouth."

"You're a wuss."

"But I'm your wuss and you love me." Vanessa said with a smile as she took her mug back and he kissed her head.

"You're damn right I do. What other pictures do you have?"

"Fuck, I dunno. In New York I only have a couple, but all the others are in Cincy in my room."

"Think they'd look good on my walls?" Jon asked and Vanessa nodded, handing her mug to him so she could turn to face him and press her palms to his cheeks.

"You need to make this apartment your home, babe. When I move in, it'll be our home."

"I'm home like twice a month, baby. It's hard to turn this into a home when I'm barely here." He reasoned and she frowned, but pecked his lips. "Right now, this place is just a place to keep my things with a really kickass bed. At most. Will that change later on down the road? Hell yes, I have you now. But, at the moment, that's what it is. I have you now, so this place is definitely going to change."

"You're damn right it is. You need a framed picture of me on your nightstand." Vanessa joked and Jon smiled.

"I keep a picture of you on my suitcase." He informed and he could've sworn that she started to tear up. "I look at it before every match. Each and every time I wrestle, I do it for you. If it hadn't of been for you, I wouldn't be where I am today."

"Jon, I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything, sweets. Just drink your coffee."

* * *

"Brandon, you're acting like its a big deal." Vanessa mumbled as she walked around Jon's apartment. He said he was going out on a run before he went to get breakfast, leaving her alone when Brandon called. It had been an hour since he left, forty five minutes since Brandon called, and Vanessa wanted Jon to come home.

_"You've been gone two days and you're already engaged. How is that not a big deal?"_

"Because it's Jon... So it's not." Brandon sighed and Vanessa bit her lip as Jon came in. "We both knew it was going to happen one of these days, and you're the one who wanted me to elope with a stripper."

"Woah there!" Jon called on his way to shower and Vanessa smiled at him.

_"You know that he turned into a manwhore, right?" _Brandon asked and Vanessa sighed. _"Does he know about-"_

"We've talked about everything. He knows about the eating, the cuts, everything. We've accepted that and put it behind us. I ate a whole omelette yesterday morning. In one sitting."

"I never said he was bad for you, Nessie. I just want you to be happy."

"I am happy, Bran. For once in my adult life, I'm on cloud nine."

"I'll let you get back to your cloud. Have fun."

"You too." Vanessa said with a smile before looking over at Jon, who was leaning against the bathroom doorframe. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Am I not allowed to admire my fiancé?"

"Not when you look like you're looking for trouble." Vanessa teased as she walked towards him, letting him pull her into a kiss.

"Trouble tends to find me when I'm with you." Jon mumbled against her lips before he pulled her into the bathroom with him.

* * *

"You're all buff, now. I honestly don't know how to deal with it." Vanessa murmured, giving his arm a gentle squeeze. Jon only smiled and flexed his bicep beneath her hand, grinning when her eyes widened.

"I'm not that buff compared to other guys at work."

"Yeah, but compared to when we first met, you're a giant." She reasoned, dragging her hand over to his pecs.

"Sweets, I've spent hours in the gym trying to make sure that I was in the best shape possible when I saw you again."

"Not for work?"

"There's that, too. But remember when I first started and you'd rub my back and I'd ask if I was doing the right thing?"

"And I would always point out how muscular you were getting?" Vanessa asked, propping herself up on her elbow.

"And you'd tell me how hot it was that I was getting muscular." Jon reflected with a smile, keeping his eyes on his fiancé.

"You're forgetting when I told you that you were hot without all the muscles, but watching your body improve was cute."

"Now I'm just totally sexy."

"You've always been sexy to me, Jon." Vanessa assured, bringing the hand that was resting on his pec up to his hair so she could scratch his scalp like she knew he liked. The way his eyes fluttered shut and the contented sigh told her just how much he liked it. "You're like a cat."

"I love having my head scratched and I'll rub my cheek on you to tell you that I love you."

"You've never done that."

"I'll start. I'm not always going to be verbal about loving you, I never was and you know that, but I need you to trust in the fact that you're the only serious girlfriend I've ever been in and that I will love you until the day I die."

"Jon-"

"Just tell me that you trust me. Please, Nessie."

"I trust you, Jon." He grinned and leaned up to kiss her and, in that moment, he knew that everything was right in his world. The stars had aligned and he had his girl in his bed again. Nothing was going to take away the things he felt when he was with Vanessa.

* * *

**A/N: Just wanted to send a special thank you to UntilNeverDawns, ArtisticLullaby, Dixiewinxwrites12, xxDream-Up-Your-Painxx, ILoveAnime89, and TrueBeliever831 for reviewing this story! And also thanks to everyone who favorited and followed this. It does mean a lot to me! **


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